5 Famous Love Quotes That Have It All Wrong

Inspirational quotes can really be a great balm when it comes to our love lives. Their soothing words, very often so artfully phrased, can help us re-center ourselves and remind us to focus on the little things that really matter. They can help us remember that love isn't something we chase after, it's something that finds us. They can also makes us laugh at not just ourselves, but the world. They can also be giant, ridiculous lies.

Sometimes it's hard to tell which quotes are helpful and which are actually just nonsensical prattle that do more harm than good. We've taken 5 popular quotes about love that are TOTALLY bogus -- even though they might not appear that way at first. That's right, we're being Valentine's Day bummers, because in the immortal words of The J. Geils Band, sometimes love stinks.

It's true that somebody who really loves you isn't going to walk away when you're in a crap mood. But that doesn't mean if somebody breaks up with you for being a terrible person, for lying, cheating, or breaking all their possessions or the like, they don't 'deserve' the honor of getting to know you anymore and have done you a favor. It means they escaped by the skin of their teeth and should be thankful for it!

2. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." -- from the movie Love Story

Guess what's true? Not this. If anything, the opposite should be the quote we all know. Love means having to say you're sorry ALL THE TIME. Real love is putting aside your ego, acknowledging your mistakes, and coming to your partner at your most humble and vulnerable knowing you won't be turned away.

3. "A woman knows the face of the man she loves like a sailor knows the sea." -- Honor Balzac

True story. A guy I once dated had a beard. He shaved that beard without giving me warning, and when I went to meet him that evening, I walked right past him because I was all "well that pasty-faced weirdo is definitely not my boyfriend." Additionally, sailors drown all the time. I'm just putting that out there.

4. "The only thing we never get enough of is love; and the only thing we never give enough of is love." -- Henry Miller

Real love satisfies, it is rich and juicy and holds us over for the long haul. There are also loads of things we never give enough of -- donations to charitable organizations, free cakes to strangers, time to our favorite activities, the list goes on.

5. "You can't be wise and in love at the same time." -- Bob Dylan

Pause to acknowledge that Bob Dylan just called himself a fool and that tickled me greatly. Lots of wise men and women have been in love: Martin Luther King Jr., Emily Dickinson, and Pablo Neruda among scores of others. If you're doing it right, love can make you the wisest person on the planet.